ZoneBtuBTU per head, per room, per orientation — not one number for the house.

What size mini split does a 200 sq ft bedroom in Rochester, MN need?

200 ft² bedroom in Rochester, MN
6,000BTU/hr
3,463 BTU/hr of load at 17.3 BTU/ft² — the figure for 578 cooling degree days
200 ft² bedroom in Rochester, MN6,000 BTU/hrHead size to buy3,463 BTU/hrCalculated load4,000 BTU/hrWhat the 20 BTU/f…
Head size to buy6,000BTU/hr
Calculated load200 ft² × 17.3 BTU/ft²3,463BTU/hr
BTU per square foot hereinterpolated from Rochester's 578 cooling degree days17.3BTU/ft²
What the 20 BTU/ft² rule givesthe rule overshoots by 13% here4,000BTU/hr
Summer design temperature86°F
Winter design temperaturea mini split heats too — this is the number that decides whether it can carry the room alone-15°F
Summer day–night swinga fairly dry climate20°F
Days at or above 90°F4days/yr
Oversize from the size stepa big step — read the note73%

Notes

  • The "20 BTU per square foot" rule is a Midwest number. Rochester runs 578 cooling degree days, which works out to 17.3 BTU/ft² — so for this bedroom the rule overshoots by 13%. A single national figure has to be wrong somewhere, and this is where.
  • Bedroom: the room where oversizing hurts most — quiet, low load, long runtimes wanted.
  • 6,000 BTU/hr is 73% above the load, and the gap between head sizes is wide — this is already the smallest head. In a single room that matters more than it would on a central system: there are no other rooms to absorb the excess capacity. If the room is well insulated and shaded, the smaller head is usually the better buy, and modern inverter compressors modulate down far better than they modulate up.
  • Rochester is fairly dry — summer nights stay within 20°F of the day's high, the signature of humid air. A meaningful share of this head's work is removing moisture, and it only removes moisture while it is running. This is the climate where an oversized head produces a room that reads cold and feels clammy.
  • Do not forget the winter side. Rochester designs to -15°F. That is cold enough that a standard head will have lost a large part of its rated capacity by the time it is needed most — check the manufacturer's capacity table at -15°F, not the nameplate, and look at hyper-heat rated equipment.
  • Where these numbers come from. Rochester International Airport, 14 km from downtown Rochester, daily records 2015–2024. Design temperatures are calibrated against published ASHRAE values at eight airports and land within about 2°F of them.

The short answer

A 200 square foot bedroom in Rochester, MN needs a head of about 6,000 BTU per hour. The calculated load is 3,463 BTU/hr.

Where that number comes from

Rochester, MN runs 578 cooling degree days a year, which puts the room at 17.3 BTU per square foot rather than the 20 BTU/ft² the generic charts use. Applied to this room the rule gives 4,000 BTU/hr.

The winter half of the question

Rochester, MN designs to -15°F. A mini split is a heat pump, and its heating capacity falls as the outdoor temperature drops — the nameplate is measured at 47°F, not at the temperature you actually need it.

Sizing a single room is not sizing a house

There is no other room to absorb a mistake. An oversized head short-cycles, never runs long enough to dehumidify, and leaves the room cold and damp.

Nearby sizes

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